Episode #247: Presenting In A Post Covid World

The end is near. The end of Covid that is, as we see vaccinations increase and get us all closer to herd immunity. When will it end? There probably will never be an exact end, but it will diminish and our lives will get back to something approaching normality. That means we will be back in the meeting rooms and speaking venues to give our talks to live audiences. We have gotten used to online talks, which are the supreme example of impersonal presentations. The audience are a series of tiny boxes on the screen, some without their cameras on and there is no particular sense of interaction. We are talking to a camera mounted 10 centimeters or more above where the faces are positioned, so we have little read on the audience reaction to our talk.

Using body language on screen is difficult. In fact, it is so difficult that almost 99% of speakers don’t use any when they speak online. They sit there talking and talking, but not involving their hands for gestures or using any facial expression. Fake backgrounds have taught everyone that if you start waving your hands around they will disappear. The secret here though is to use gestures, but just don’t wave them around like a pirate captain. When you do move your hands, move them slowly and keep the gestures in the upper shoulder to around ear height range, in order to be easy to see.

When we are live in person, we can rediscover all the benefits of using our full body to emphasise our messages. When I see speakers standing behind a podium, so that they can operate their laptop or read from their notes, I always think what a waste. A waste of energy, which could have been distributed to the audience through our full body. We should move away from the podium and face the audience, so that we can draw on the power of our total body speaking techniques.

This includes using the three distances technique with the audience. When we want to make a macro point, we can move slightly back from the audience, lift our chin up slightly and employ very large gestures. When we want a neutral power position, we can be mid-stage and hold our chin level, while employing normal gestures. If we want to make a micro point, we can move as close as possible to the audience, drop our chin down ever so slightly and use rather smaller gestures.

If it is a big venue, we can cover the left and right sides of the stage too. When we move though, we should try to avoid speaking while moving. Walking is a distraction, so we want to minimise this as much as possible and have the audience completely concentrated on our words alone. We should walk naturally to the very stage apron on the left or right side, so that we are as physically close to that part of the audience as possible. This physical positioning gives a greater sense of speaker and audience connection. This is because we are showing we want to move to be with them, rather than remaining a distant, remote speaker on stage, clearly separated from the attendees.

Being in the room, we can now really use our eye power. Online, we have to train ourselves to look at the camera, but it is a weird experience. The way it works with the technology is such that we cannot see the reactions on the faces below, because we are looking up at the camera lens. Our talk may as well be delivered by phone, because we are not getting any feedback on the content of what we are saying. In a live venue, we can see the faces of the audience and can make contact with their eyes. We should be seeking to hold each person’s gaze, one by one, for six seconds. This is enough time to make a connection, make the talk feel more personal, yet without the eye contact feeling too intrusive.

Keeping the lights up, if we are using slides is key, because we want to see their reactions and we want them to see us too. If any “helpful” individual decides to turn the house lights down while you are speaking, then stop speaking. Pause to build some tension in the room and then release the tension, by asking for the lights to be brought back up again.

We don’t have a chat function live, but you can ask your audience to raise their hands if they agree or disagree with some point you want feedback on. It sounds funny, but when I have taught classes live, I miss that chat function. It gives you instant feedback from a large number of people and you can comment on their contributions and recognise them, as the chat input pops up onscreen. Constantly asking the live audience to raise their hands or to all speak up is going to be a shambles. Of course, we have the live Q&A to deal with enquiries and further clarifications, so all is not lost.

At some point soon we will back live. I found there is a transition from the computer screen to the big stage and it takes a bit of adjustment to get back in the saddle. We need to dust off our basic techniques for speaking and be ready to boost our personal and professional brands. Show time folks!